The Ultimate Guide to your perfect smile
Kids grow up too fast, and so can their dental problems.If you are a parent or an elder sibling, the crooked smile of the young ones with maligned dentition might concern you. Even though you know they need dental attention, you may wonder how old you start braces.
Well, we have some answers for you!
At Kanaka Creek Family Dental, most of the orthodontic cases we get are braces for kids or adults and Invisalign in Maple Ridge.
Invisalign is a new addition to the orthodontics family and treats mild, less complex cases. The mainstream treatment to correct dental issues and complex orthodontic issues in growing kids and even adults remain the good old-school, traditional braces.
Dental braces are a complex and lengthy treatment, with so many dos and don’ts. The most crucial element to ensuring perfect dental health and a smile at the end of braces is to start at the right age.
Keep reading to know how old you start braces because your kids deserve the best smiles!
Why do your kids need braces?
The proper treatment at the right time is key to a happy and healthy body.
Before we talk about the right age for braces, it is important to acknowledge if you or your kid even needs the braces or not!
Key signs that indicate you or your kids need orthodontic treatment are:
- Crowded teeth
- Misaligned teeth
- Poor oral habits like finger or thumb sucking
- Early or late loss of milk (primary teeth)
- Early or late eruption of permanent teeth
- Retention of milk teeth while permanent teeth erupt leads to crowded and mal-aligned mixed dentition
- Upper teeth do not meet the lower teeth normally
- Cheek biting
- Protruding or retruding teeth
- Cross bite, under bite, over bite
- Excessive spacing between teeth
- Facial asymmetry or facial imbalance
- Mouth breathing or having trouble breathing
- Snoring in sleep, with mouth wide open
- Difficulty in speaking and eating
- Teeth and jaws are out of proportion
If you see any of these signs at an early age, it is best to consult a dentist or orthodontist instantly.
At what age does your child get the first Orthodontic consultation?
Regular dental check-ups and exams are a necessity for both adults and kids. You may never know what is going inside your oral cavity.
At Kanaka Creek Family Dental, we suggest that your child must get at least one visit with an orthodontist before or at least at the age of 7. Especially if you know there is something wrong with their teeth.
The orthodontist will examine and evaluate the kid for braces, and it will help you know which way to go with the treatment.
Mostly, orthodontists recommend starting with braces between 9 and 14 years old. Generally, there is no wrong or right age to get braces, even if you are an adult. However, it is better to get evaluated by an orthodontist at Kanaka Creek Family Dental for braces or Invisalign in Maple Ridge- we strive to provide the best patient care.
Reasons to get an early orthodontic treatment
Two major phenomenon's explain the early treatment plan for braces in kids such as:
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Jaw expansion and growth:
If there is a problem with the child’s bite and the teeth start to get crowded, they need more space for permanent teeth as they are larger than the milk teeth. In early braces, prenatal expansion in the upper jaw can create enough space to accommodate all teeth in perfect alignment, creating a beautiful smile.
The two halves of the palate do not fuse until the child reaches adulthood. In early braces in kids, the orthodontist can instigate more bone growth to expand the jaw and create more space, making the palate wider.
The orthodontist will simultaneously use custom-made palatal expanders alongside braces to treat the jaw and teeth.
This is one of the significant reasons early orthodontic treatment is recommended. Because jaw expansion using expanders is not possible in adults, the palatal plates will fuse, and jaw surgery will be the last resort.
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Mixed Dentition
If there is an early loss of baby teeth, early orthodontist treatment preserves the space for erupted permanent teeth. Also, it will help to create more space so the permanent teeth can take their place while the baby teeth take their time to fall off.
Some other reasons that indicate early orthodontic treatment as braces in kids produce the best results include:
- To create enough room in a child’s oral cavity to reduce or eliminate the risk of crowding of erupting teeth
- To correct a bad or misaligned bite that may otherwise lead to many dental problems like tooth decay, damaged teeth and gum disease
- To improve facial symmetry
- To align the teeth with jaw proportion
- Stop trauma or damage to protruded teeth
- Early orthodontic treatment minimizes the chance of tooth removal to correct crowding or jaw surgery
- Early treatment usually- but not in all cases accelerates the braces time and can finish the treatment earlier
- There are little or no side effects of dental braces- only if you get it done from experts like us at Kanaka Creek Family Dental and follow your orthodontist’s instructions strictly.
Get your braces now!
If you are worried about braces in kids or looking to get Invisalign in Maple Ridge for yourself, worry not. Contact us at Kanaka Creek Family Dental and get an evaluation to make better, well-informed decisions about your dental health.
